Courtesy Boston Globe

(October 2, 2009) During Kirk Herbstreit’s early ’90s days as an Ohio State quarterback, when his teammates included current Patriot receiver Joey Galloway, it’s reasonable to assume he was acquainted with the term “fly pattern.’’

Herbstreit is now an in-demand college football analyst for ESPN and ABC.

And the phrase has taken on an entirely different meaning.

“I have an absolutely wonderful job, a dream job for someone who grew up around football the way I did,’’ said Herbstreit. “But sometimes I do spend a heck of a lot of time on airplanes.’’

Herbstreit, a broadcasting wunderkind who turned 40 in August but is already in his 14th season as a studio analyst on ESPN’s wildly popular “College GameDay,’’ will be in the neighborhood tomorrow when the program comes to Chestnut Hill for Boston College’s matchup with Florida State.

As always, he will be joined by co-host Chris Fowler and co-analyst Lee Corso for the two-hour program (10 a.m.-noon), which will originate from the BC campus for the first time since Sept. 17, 2005. (BC made its Atlantic Coast Conference debut in that game, a 28-17 loss to the Seminoles.)

But his day won’t even be close to complete when “GameDay’’ signs off. Herbstreit, who typically gets up at 6 a.m. since his work begins with a 7:30 a.m. “GameDay’’ production meeting, will take off his wireless microphone, tape a couple of segments, and do a quick meet-and-greet with sponsors.

Then he will hop into a car, zip to the airport with a police escort, and board a plane for Miami, where he’ll arrive “hopefully by 6 p.m.’’ to hammer out a couple of hours of preparation before joining Brent Musberger as analyst for ABC’s 8 p.m. matchup between Oklahoma and Miami.

It’s a long day - and a familiar routine - for Herbstreit, who follows essentially the same plan each Saturday, albeit to and from different destinations. Naturally, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“It’s funny, from Jan. 8 to Aug. 1, when there’s no college football to cover, I get so much more tired than I do doing this,’’ said Herbstreit, who is married to his college sweetheart and has four sons younger than 10. (Herbstreit tries to catch a 6 a.m. flight every Sunday so he can return home to Columbus, Ohio, to be with his family.)

“Your whole existence for four months during college football season is traveling and studying, and you’re constantly on edge, and yet if I get 3 1/2 hours sleep, I’m pumped. It’s probably not for everyone, but for me, it’s an adrenaline rush.’’

Coincidentally, the trip Herbstreit recalls as his most daunting had to do with another BC-Florida State game, one that aired on ABC. The date was Nov. 3, 2007, and Herbstreit had to fly cross-country in what he described as a hurricane after “GameDay’’ aired from the University of Oregon campus.

“The five or six hours we were on the plane, the whole time the pilot kept updating us on where the eye of the storm was so we could determine where to land,’’ Herbstreit recalled. “We ended up setting up car services at two different airports, eventually landing in Springfield. By the time we got into Boston, it was pouring rain, and I got to the stadium with about 15 minutes to spare before kickoff.’’

Even poised former Big Ten quarterbacks get rattled once in a while.

“Let me tell you, that’s one game I don’t remember a ton about,’’ he said with a laugh.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Accelerate Your Sports Broadcasting Career

Meet Employers

Secrets Revealed

Radio Demos, Resumes

TV Demos, Resumes

Sports Broadcasting Books

Sportscastings Jobs

Show Prep Links